Seeing the fleeting expression that exposed the fear hidden in Liu Wuxie's heart, Tu Zhengbao's confidence swelled even further, and his aggression only intensified.

Liu Wuxie's attainments in spiritual arrays did not necessarily reflect the abilities of his students. That confidence was precisely why Tu Zhengbao dared to propose such a wager. Besides, bets like these were nothing unusual among mentors.

Every month, mentors would put treasures on the line as stakes, and everyone had long since grown accustomed to it.

From the very first day Liu Wuxie entered the Azure Flame Dao Hall, Ye Linghan had told him that the assessment was one of the primary avenues for acquiring resources, and beyond the assessments, challenging other dao halls offered even greater rewards. From that moment onward, a grand plan had quietly taken root in Liu Wuxie's mind, and only now was it beginning to unfold.

Rather than naming the stakes himself, Liu Wuxie tossed the question back to Tu Zhengbao, curious to see what the latter would offer.

After all, ever since the mentor assessment, Liu Wuxie had humiliated Tu Zhengbao time and time again, beginning with the Great Thousand-Catties Array. The accumulated resentment had long festered in Tu Zhengbao's heart, and now that an opportunity for revenge had appeared, he naturally stepped forward without hesitation.

"I'll wager this Ancient Orchid Whale Brain against your alchemy technique," Tu Zhengbao declared. He produced a box and opened it, releasing a wave of icy energy into the surroundings.

Inside the box rested a strange brain-like substance. It was none other than the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain. Ancient Orchid Whales were nearly extinct, making anything related to them unimaginably rare. Even Tu Zhengbao had spent an enormous fortune to obtain this treasure.

However, this was merely a portion of the brain. Ancient Orchid Whales possessed colossal bodies, and their brains were naturally enormous as well. The piece before them amounted to no more than a tenth of the whole brain. Moreover, it wasn't even part of the core region. The true core of an Ancient Orchid Whale's brain was far beyond the reach of a Profound Immortal.

Tu Zhengbao had taken out such a valuable treasure because he feared Liu Wuxie might refuse the wager.

Liu Wuxie's eyes immediately brightened when he saw the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain. He had originally expected Tu Zhengbao to offer immortal stones, never imagining he would produce a treasure of this caliber.

The Ancient Orchid Whale Brain contained ancient laws, making its value comparable to that of the Indigo Moon Essence.

If a High Immortal refined the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain, they could advance their cultivation without any additional resources. While its value might not be particularly attractive to a Profound Immortal, it was nothing less than a priceless treasure to a High Immortal.

"Deal!" Liu Wuxie agreed without the slightest hesitation, using his alchemy technique as the wager.

Immediately, every gaze in the plaza converged upon the arena.

The surrounding mentors remarked among themselves, "The atmosphere this year is much more intense. In previous years, the wagers were only minor prizes."

An alchemy mentor sneered. "Don't tell me none of you covet his alchemy technique?" More than half of the mentors harbored thoughts of obtaining Liu Wuxie's alchemy inheritance.

Without the temptation of that alchemy technique, how many people would have accepted Liu Wuxie's challenge?

While it appeared that Liu Wuxie had been provoking everyone, many mentors were using the assessment as an excuse to seize his alchemy technique. In truth, Liu Wuxie had been in a passive position from the very beginning.

The surrounding discussions gradually subsided. Though the alchemy mentor's tone was unpleasant, no one could deny the truth of his words.

Most of the people gathered there had set their sights on Liu Wuxie's alchemy technique. There was no need to pretend otherwise. Whether it was Jiang Hongran or Tu Zhengbao, who could honestly claim they weren't here for it?

Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang exchanged a glance before taking out their array flags.

A contest of spiritual arrays differed entirely from martial combat. The clash of formations determined victory and defeat. Naturally, it lacked the direct spectacle of physical combat, but the true strength of spiritual arrays lay in their endless transformations.

"Wind, arise!"

"Wind, descend!"

Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang shouted in unison. Fierce winds immediately swept across the arena while dark clouds gathered overhead.

The scene caught everyone completely off guard.

"What spiritual array is this? They didn't even spend time setting up a formation!" Xia Yuanming shot to his feet.

As a mentor specializing in spiritual arrays, he had never witnessed such a bizarre method before. Even Zhongsun Wen looked completely astonished. Both men had devoted decades to the study of formations. Yet, neither could see through the principles behind Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang's techniques.

"This is strange. They're actually moving the spiritual array itself!" Yu Yong also rose to his feet, eager to take a closer look at the formation.

Aside from Tu Zhengbao, the other spiritual array mentors had already gathered to discuss the spectacle before them.

"If the formation itself can move, doesn't that mean it can be integrated directly into combat?" While moving formations were considered top-tier in the mortal realm, they were not especially rare in the Celestial Realm. Every spiritual array mentor was capable of creating such formations.

Yet the formation before them was fundamentally different. The two students wielded array flags and directly manipulated the forces of heaven and earth.

Even moving formations still relied upon the formation's own power at its core. For example, when Liu Wuxie had once deployed the Moon Tribulation Incineration Array, it required the combined strength of a hundred people. Such formations were powerful, but they couldn't directly command heaven and earth as weapons.

A truly profound formation could mobilize the forces of heaven and earth themselves to fight. That was the highest profundity of spiritual arrays.

And Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang had accomplished exactly that.

A chill immediately ran through the crowd.

Everyone versed in formations turned toward Liu Wuxie. "Could Liu Wuxie have taught them this spiritual array as well?"

He stood there calmly, completely unbothered. The nervousness that had appeared on his face moments ago had vanished without a trace.

"Tu Zhengbao is finished. Liu Wuxie is far too cunning. He deliberately acted nervously to make Tu Zhengbao lower his guard," Guo Anyi said, feeling a chill creep up his spine as he grasped the situation. Liu Wuxie excelled at psychological warfare, and the slightest misstep could lead someone straight into his trap.

Since Liu Wuxie lacked overwhelming strength, he compensated with his sharp mind.

He had once said exactly that to the Palace Master of the Nine Dragon Palace. Having only recently arrived in the Celestial Realm, he wasn't powerful enough to bulldoze through every obstacle in his path. Thus, he could only rely on methods like these.

Meanwhile, before Tu Zhengbao's students could react, wind and rain had already engulfed them.

"Lightning, descend!"

"Thunder, descend!" Moments later, bolts of lightning and rolling thunder joined the storm. The four natural elements intertwined into a terrifying vortex resembling a colossal tornado that sealed off the entire battlefield.

A deafening explosion rang out as a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, blasting the two students away. By the time their opponents defeated them, they had only completed half of their spiritual array.

"That's it?"

Disbelief swept through the crowd. The battle had ended far too quickly.

Many had anticipated an earth-shaking clash between spiritual arrays, yet the match concluded almost instantly.

Tu Zhengbao stood frozen in place, momentarily forgetting how to speak.

"Mentor Tu!"

"Mentor Tu!"

"......" The assistant mentors beside him called out several times before he finally snapped back to reality.

"This is impossible!" Tu Zhengbao screamed the instant he regained his senses, utterly unable to accept the outcome.

The Ancient Orchid Whale Brain had cost him an entire decade of savings. How could he willingly hand it over to Liu Wuxie? Yet no one sympathized with him. He himself had initiated the challenge, and since he lost, he naturally had to honor the wager.

"Mentor Tu, are you alright?" an assistant mentor asked cautiously.

"Get lost!"

Consumed by rage, Tu Zhengbao lashed out with a palm strike, sending the assistant mentor flying backward. The man coughed up a mouthful of blood before crashing to the ground.

The second assistant mentor immediately retreated in fear, not daring to approach him again.

Waves of ridicule soon spread throughout the crowd. Tu Zhengbao's conduct was utterly disgraceful. Victory and defeat were common occurrences, yet venting his anger on his subordinate only made him appear incompetent.

Ye Linghan's lips parted slightly. Even she was stunned by the spiritual array that Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang had constructed. Unconsciously, she turned toward Liu Wuxie.

Ever since this mysterious man had entered her life, her curiosity about him had only grown deeper with each passing day. She wondered more and more what kind of person he truly was.

"Mentor Tu, shouldn't you fulfill your promise now?" Liu Wuxie asked with an innocent expression.

The crowd immediately rolled their eyes. Even after winning such a huge prize, he still had the nerve to act harmless.

Tu Zhengbao's eyes turned bloodshot. As he lowered his gaze toward the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain in his hand, a vicious thought suddenly surfaced.

"If I can't have it, neither can you. What can you possibly do about it?" Tu Zhengbao roared.

Then he did something no one had anticipated.

He raised his arm and hurled the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain toward the ground.

Everyone understood what would happen if Liu Wuxie refined it. His cultivation would immediately advance by an entire level. He was already monstrously powerful as a High Immortal. No one wanted to imagine how terrifying he would become after another breakthrough. At that point, which mentor could still suppress him?

Watching Tu Zhengbao's actions, many mentors secretly rejoiced.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie's gaze instantly turned icy.

This time, he was genuinely enraged.

Ye Linghan gasped in shock, while Xiang Rulong and the other students were equally furious. None of them had expected a mentor of Tu Zhengbao's status to behave so shamelessly.

However, just as the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain was about to smash into the ground, a black hole suddenly appeared beneath it.

With the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron unlocking new abilities, Liu Wuxie could now create multiple black holes simultaneously, summoning them at any point within a hundred-meter radius.

The moment the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain entered the black hole, it disappeared without a trace.

No one understood what had happened, nor could they comprehend the nature of that black hole. Only Diao Jiuzhi and the other three knew Liu Wuxie had secretly intervened.

After the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain entered the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, Liu Wuxie did not attempt to refine it immediately.

Liu Wuxie's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared, "Tu Zhengbao, you disgust me. You're unworthy of being a mentor of the Azure Flame Dao Hall!" Naturally, he gave no indication that he had already obtained the treasure.

Diao Jiuzhi, Ren Fanfan, and Liang Han exchanged startled glances. The Ancient Orchid Whale Brain had already fallen into Liu Wuxie's hands, yet he still reacted this way. Moments later, they understood.

Liu Wuxie intended to use the opportunity to humiliate Tu Zhengbao even further.

The three had long since received strict orders from Liu Wuxie not to reveal anything that had transpired in the underground fight club. Although Xiang Rulong and the others knew the final results, they remained unaware of the details.

Tu Zhengbao sneered fearlessly. "Liu Wuxie, what can you possibly do to me?" Liu Wuxie was merely a High Immortal. What threat could he possibly pose?

Yet his shameless attitude immediately drew contempt from the surrounding students.

A crisp slap suddenly echoed across the arena.

Before anyone could react, Ye Linghan had appeared in front of Tu Zhengbao and struck him across the face. Blood sprayed through the air along with several broken teeth as the impact sent Tu Zhengbao flying.

"If he can't do anything to you, then I'll teach you a lesson in his place," Ye Linghan said coldly.

"Ye Linghan, you dare hit me?!" Tu Zhengbao was completely stunned. Even now, he couldn't believe someone had slapped him in front of so many mentors and students.

"So what if I did? You deserved it," Ye Linghan replied. As the aura of an Origin Immortal surged from her body, Tu Zhengbao instantly fell silent.

In the past, Tu Zhengbao had never feared Ye Linghan. But things were different now. Having reached the Origin Immortal Realm, Ye Linghan now stood an entire major realm above him.

That was the authority of an Origin Immortal. Using the power of her newly attained realm, she had crossed the distance. She appeared before Tu Zhengbao almost instantaneously, striking him before he could even react.